St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 221
Lowe Elias Avery, Codices Latini Antiquiores. A palaeographical guide to latin manuscripts prior to the ninth century. Part VII: Switzerland, Oxford 1956 (Osnabrück 1982), p. 26.
Titre du manuscrit: Homiliae , , , .
Période: Saec. VIII
Support: Parchment rather thick.
Volume:
Foll. 200.
Format: ca. 205 x ca. 127 mm.
Numérotation des pages: Paginated 1-249. 249b. 250-291. 291b. 292-368. 370-397 (the last fragmentary folio is unnumbered)
Composition des cahiers: Gatherings normally of eight, with flesh-side outside, signed in the middle of the lower margin of the last page with Roman numerals enclosed between four triangular groups of dots and strokes; with few exceptions hair faces flesh within the quire.
Mise en page:
(175 x 100-105 mm) in 23 or 24 long lines. Ruling before folding, generally on the flesh-side, a quire at a time, with the direct impression on the outer bifolium. Double bounding lines in both margins. Prickings in the outer margin guided the ruling.
Type d'écritures et copistes:
- Script is early minuscule by two scribes: a is more frequent than , the suprascript form of a occurs often; b with horizontal tag occurs once; both d and ꝺ are used; mi and ni with subscript i are not infrequent; the nt ligature occurs in mid-word; Ɛ is used for hard and soft ti.
- Punctuation: the medial point does duty for most pauses, here and there a group of points marks the main pause.
- Omissions are marked by signes de renvoi ( pp. 246, 249b, 291).
- Abbreviations include the Insular symbols lr = autem; ℈ (with the tongue aslant) ƚƚ, ÷ = eius, enim, est; m᷎, p̚ = mihi, per; and the ordinary forms b;, q; (and ꝙ) = bus, que; aū = autem; = ber (and bis); bꞇ̄ = bunt; c̄ = con; ec̄ = ecce; ee, ē = esse, est; = men; miiae = misericordiae; ꝳ (and m;) ꝴ = mus, nus; = non; nr, ni and nri, etc. = noster, -tri, etc.; o = omnes; ꝑ = per; ppꝉo = populo; p̕, , ꝓ, pp (ꝑꝑ and ppꞇ), p; = post, prae, pro, propter, pus; ꝙ, q̍, q, q = quam (and quem), qui, quod, quoniam; ꞅɫ (σƴ̲), rꞇ (and r̄) = rum (orum), runt; sc = secundum; sic̄ = sicut; ꞇ̄, ꞇ̓ = ter, tur; uo -u᷎ = uero, -uit; the abbreviation-stroke is mostly a vertical flourish; the hand on pp. 346 and 357 ff. uses a horizontal stroke with dot above and below; curious is the use of dots to mark abbreviation (p. 15) - a feature of several early Luxeuil manuscripts.
- Spelling shows y for i (statym, proxymo, spey), and ci for ti.
- Ink dark brown or black; red is often used to call attention to prophets or apostles named in the text.
- A somewhat later Swiss hand wrote the last six lines of p. 212.
Décoration:
- Colophons in black uncial with daubs of red.
- Headings in red uncial mixed with capitals and minuscule.
- Ornamentation noteworthy not for its beauty but for its original character: the entire first page is occupied by a cross set in a plaited frame against a plaited background; initials show some striking motifs, including horned snakes and wide meshed interlacing; a number of initials are strongly reminiscent of Insular decoration (pp. 160, 274); a curious with A and ω within is seen on p. 183; smaller initials in black often surrounded by red dots or in red surrounded by black dots.
Origine du manuscrit:
Origin uncertain, apparently a Swiss centre under Burgundian and Insular influence, to judge by script, abbreviations, and initials. The manuscript seems copied from an Insular exemplar.